Tuesday, November 18, 2014

There are many things that captured my heart when I was visiting Alert Bay. The wild, northwest landscape. The ocean in all its mystery; sometimes as calm as glass and other times violently thrashing. The people; being welcomed into homes and re-aquainting myself with small town life. Eating fresh salmon everyday...

But what made my heart ache (you know when you see something that resonates so deeply with your sense of beauty and loveliness that your heart hurts) was the buildings on stilts. I won't call them abandoned... Maybe it was the romance and intrigue in wondering what the town was like in its glory days.

All I know is that derelict buildings, especially the ones that have "lost" to nature, will always have a place in my heart.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Swing by my studio to say 'hi' during the Eastside Culture Crawl! In addition to seeing my face, you will also get to purchase authentic J-Hawk lino-cut prints, experience a sweet installation, and meet/see my studio mate's artwork (Maria Gaudin, painter and sculptor). Hope to see you there!

Friday, October 3, 2014

I haven't made a fully immersive installation since art school. This piece is still in process; it is the developed version of 'Reliquary for a memory' that I made two years ago (the pallet fort with a lace tablecloth thrown over it). It's not perfect, and I'm struggling with the sewing machine and making clean seams, but last monday I was ecstatic with the progress.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Please come see the OBAC's second exhibition ever! See below for our statement.

Alice Munro has mastered the craft of saying a lot with a little; and consistently captures an essence of Canadiana in person and place in her numerous short stories. In her most recent collection, Dear Life, she allows the reader to witness subtle yet pivotal experiences of her characters' lives within a familiar Canadian landscape. Munro constructs vignettes that seem to be like significant links in domino chains of events-- coming of ages; accidents; close encounters-- though we as readers are left behind at the end of each story to imagine the fallout.

Munroʼs stories are not expansive or epic, yet when magnified they reveal rich symbolism paired with characters whose complex networks and personal histories intersect. This is the material that the participating artists have drawn on to curate this collection of work.

The Open Book Art Collective seeks to create a visual/literary dialogue with art objects that are both informed by and informing the literature. Each individual artist has applied their medium to two short stories from Dear Life, exploring broader themes of recollection, place, banality and nostalgia. With painting, encaustic, drawing, sculpture, photography and textiles; Dear Life is a sensitive exploration into what it means to be humanas envisioned by Nobel Prize Winner, Alice Munro.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Isn't it interesting how I could travel eight hours north to make 'new work' and still end up making something that floats? Someone has a one track mind... but I'm ok with that. All the items in this float house were scavenged from the dump or the beach. I love authentic materials. For the most part the float is sturdy. I'm making videos of it traveling along the coast, and today was windy so it capsized. Its in the shop being patched up.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

For the past week (and the next) I have been working away at an artist's residency in Alert Bay. First of all, you need to know that Alert Bay is the most beautiful place in British Columbia. It's on a tiny island off the northeast tip of Vancouver Island. The island is so small that I could probably walk from one end to the other in an hour. My days are spent combing the beaches for the ever elusive trade beads, bones and sea glass, talking with people and making art.

Last week I focused on abandoned structures. I am intrigued by all the empty buildings. Alert Bay used to be a booming fish town but quite a while ago the fish laws tightened up and people couldn't afford to sustain their commercial fishing boats. There's a whole section of the island that is boarded up; hotels, shipyards, cafes and houses.

Contrasting the 'ghost town' feel of some areas, is a vibrant community of people who look out for each other. Half of the island is municipality and the other half is a First Nations Reserve. This place is rich in history, culture and generosity (and I have never eaten so much salmon in a short amount of time!).

My work has taken a turn with themes of 'migration', 'presence/absence' and 'home'.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Thursday, July 3, 2014

I grew up with both my Great Grandmothers within walking distance. Literally seconds away. Their memories are a strong influence in my artwork. The flowers correlate with their personalities and tastes. I just recently learnt how to print with linocuts. Multi-coloured prints are so HARD. The third image is a piece I worked on a few years ago, I pulled it out yesterday when I was going through my inventory. The bright fabrics were quilt scraps that G.G. worked with. It speaks to how some memories are so tangible; like her craft, while others; the sound of her voice, are harder to grasp.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Monday, June 2, 2014

Shotgun shells again! This piece (in process) is for my next group show with the Open Book Art Collective. The finished product will be a large printed photograph of the finished cabin in a natural, abandoned environment. I still have a lot of work before I finish it. More details later.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Most days I feel like I have a pretty good flow in the studio. I experiment and take risks in my art and it usually works (don't ask me how). I seem to have a good intuition when it comes to making instinctual artistic decisions.

Today I tanked.

For the past two weeks I was painting liquid latex onto found objects so I could make glove molds for beeswax candle sculptures. It should be easy, right? Youtube lied.

List of wrongs:
-I almost started a fire melting wax in a fake pyrex dish in the microwave. The glass broke and I lost a good amount of wax because of the glass shards (beeswax is expensive!)
-I peeled the rubber mold off my objects too early. I should have painted at least two or three more layers
-I tore holes in the mold
-When I finally poured the hot wax in, it melted the rubber!!!

So no candles yet. Instead I made a very strange, mysterious sculpture out of the reject latex. I might show you pictures one day.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

My Norwegian Great Grandmother (G.G.) passed away when I was in my second year of university. I knew her well because I saw her every day for eight years of my life. The perks of living next door to your relatives. A lot of my artworks are inspired by memories of my childhood, and she was a huge part of that. G.G.'s faith was important to her. The only time I ever heard her speak Norwegian was when she prayed. As a third generation American, I know very little about my families history in the old country. This piece speaks of her fading voice and a language that I wish I had the time to unlock.

Monday, March 31, 2014

This flood narrative is getting a little out of hand, but I'm pleased with the direction its going. I like how lo-fi the piece turned out. The grainy/choppy/garage band aesthetic has something going for it.

Monday, March 24, 2014

I just got back from an art trip to Portland! As per usual, I gave myself a limited amount of supplies to create with. I find that working within boundaries teaches me to use materials I normally wouldn't touch. I picked up a handful of crayons, a black marker and a used notebook at a scavenger store.

Portland feels brown to me. Not a 'blah' brown but an earthy, warm, inviting brown. Freight trains, brick and campfires.

No, I didn't see Pussy Riot, it was a figurine in my favorite art show...

Thursday, February 13, 2014

"The River, she has a mind of her own...", I heard this a lot when I was visiting my hometown over Christmas.

"Five homes along the river, three or four of them vacation cabins, had been sucked into the river before noon, and many people were waiting to see if a sixth house threatened by the flood also would be lost."Index Watched, River Took Homes. Everett Herald: Friday, Dec. 26, 1980.